A Power Yoga startup in the city

by Anjali Gupta

I recently met a young Canadian girl, Daphnee, who has chosen Pune for her startup too.

She has been a yoga practitioner for over 8 years and came to India in 2005. She has been traveling and teaching in different parts of the country and finally decided to start up in Pune. I enrolled for her first batch of Power Yoga and have loved every minute of the 75 minute class she conducts twice a week.

A lot of friends commented on the irony of learning yoga from a “firangi” especially in Pune. Well, competition in all areas is always good for the city. I look at her class just like another startup, that comes with a lot of enthusiasm and energy, and delivers a compelling product that makes me keep coming back for more. Every startup needs early adopters and her’s is no different.

In my conversations with her, she explained the poor economics for yoga teachers who are associated with gyms. Branded gyms offer them a measly Rs. 200 per class not to mention the problems of loud music while trying to teach शवासन. These new gyms offer a “pay once and try any of our activities” vs. a “pay as you go” pricing model. This ends up de-motivating (by underpaying) the teachers of various activities (power yoga, salsa, bollywood dancing) and the really good ones have to step out to create their own brand.

For customers like me it’s a bonus to go to her, A) The difference in attitude and health that comes with a good yoga teacher is worth every penny and B) it’s actually cheaper than paying the gym for stuff I’d never use because I want to focus on this activity.

So how did she bootstrap her first batch of students? Well, she attended Shiamak Davar’s dance classes as a student for a few months (associate yourself with a known brand) and collected friends and referrals who would be her first customers when she started up. That’s where I met her and so did most of the others in the class. Incidentally, DARE magazine recently featured a story on Shiamak’s entrepreneurial journey.

The problems she faces are no different from those faced by the startups in the Pune Open Coffee Club – power backup during classes, balancing rent vs. attracting customers in popular locations in the city, and most importantly, building a brand from scratch. Her being a foreigner with no family or financial support makes it no easier.

I’d like to see entrepreneurs like her join the Pune Open Coffee Club. Despite the heavy majority of tech-startups, I’m hoping the Club format will always stay Open and encourage all kinds of entrepreneurs.

~Anjali

UPDATE: I get a lot of emails asking for contact information for this power yoga workshop. Here are the contact details: Get in touch with Daphnee 9921214332, punepoweryoga at yahoo dot com. Her website is http://sites.google.com/site/punepoweryoga/

Dear Anjali,
appreciate your aim through the blog. just to let you know, that I run a very dedicated Wellness set up with an aim of providing holistic health being a practicing doctor – MD medicine.

At our setup – we offer Yoga and its various facets (including power yoga & pilates) suiting the individual needs – therapeutic yoga for people with problems, dynamic yoga for children gentle yoga for seniors, and power yoga too for the desirous! We also incorporate pranayama (basic and special techniques) as a very important part for each group.

Dear Renu,
I am 18 years old and seeking to lose weight quick and healthy. I would llike to start power yoga. Where exactly is your setup? Is it anywhere close to viman Naagar. I also have friends who would join.

Can you share the name and the contact details of this teacher as I run a yoga startup in Mumbai and would like to further explore the possibilities in Pune.
My id is rahul.janjali@gmail.com. Thank you

Here in San Diego the gym yoga teachers are actually paid more than studio teachers. Many studio teachers seek out the gym positions for that reason. Although they do not like the hurry up approach in the gym and the stigma of being a gym teacher it still is the best money.

i am a regular gymmer…. i have been working out for 4 years now and need a change of routine… i do want to incorporate yoga in my weekly activities due to the increasing stress of a day to day professional and personal life…

i really believe power ypga is wonderful and have practiced surya namaskar on many occasions but want to learn more. Can you pass me the contact details of this person as i would like to join her too ASAP……

The next workshop she has planned is a POWER YOGA Weight Awareness Workshop which will be offered as of November 21st, 2008, in both Koregaon Park and Prabhat Road, Pune.

The main focus of this workshop is to incorporate the high intensity yogasana from Power yoga to increase metabolism, stamina and endurance, combined with an exploration into the root causes of weight imbalances.

This will be conducted jointly with an ayurvedic doctor and a dietitian.

NOTE: this workshop is not aimed at taking measurements of weight, fat percentage, or giving you a diet to follow. It is aimed at gaining awareness as to why there is a weight imbalance to begin with.

hi anjali,
i have been fighting with my weight for a very long time.i am going to a gym but cant see the results.i would like to lose weight and also learn power yoga.please help me.
best regards ,
fatma

hello.. ur write up abt power yoga and the teacher
associated wt it hr in pune is quite informative.. bt
than as i understand it (wt my limited knowledge abt
the subject) that tr is nothing like power yoga/vinsaya..
western/european countries usually have cold weather
and due to the consumption of high calorie food tr
r both the problems of being overweight & lack of
sweat in routine life.. as such traditonal yoga was
put into a sequence to promote sweating and ease
the overweight.. ts is power yoga and it doesnot suit
our climatic conditions.. the original power yoga as
i believe it is suryanamaskar.. its an ‘in’ thing currently..
just like balebottom pants wr once..
but
my regards to the teacher and her wisdom.. no question
mark over that.. rather i appreciate her efforts.. if
not the regular yoga than try hatha yoga aka power
yoga..
(my
views r my own and not intended to hurt.. i ask for
forgiveness if i am wrong/hurting)..

hello !
I read ur article and i m interested in joining the power classes , but i m a student and would like to know the timing of classes as my collage is from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, therefore pls give the details of classes and fee structure.